No. 38. ”Superboy and the Invisible Girl”

NEXT TO NORMAL (2009). By Tom Kitt (music) and Brian Yorkey (book and lyrics).

Spring 2009. You’re watching the new musical Next to Normal. You had missed its off-Broadway production a year prior, which had gotten a mixed-response, and you’re curious as to why people are more on board with the Broadway incarnation. The musical opens on the Goodmans, a quintessential suburban family, as Mom (Diana Goodman) helps her teenaged children (Gabe and Natalie) and husband (Dan) get out the door on a typical morning. A crack starts to show as Diana is packing lunches and soon begins covering the counters and floor with sandwiches. The evening becomes an exploration of Diana’s struggles with bipolar disorder, the slew of treatments that are often worse than the disease (which will ultimately include electroshock therapy), and the toll it takes on the entire family. Even though the subject matter is serious (and taken seriously), there’s a lot of humor. Alice Ripley’s Diana has rock vocals and amusingly unpredictable reactions, blended with touching pathos. It makes sense that Ripley is a manic ALL CAPS twitterer IRL. After Natalie brings her new beau (Henry) over for an ill-fated dinner, she expresses her frustration at living in that shadow of an absentee brother who garners a disproportionate amount of Diana’s love and attention (“Superboy and the Invisible Girl”)

Next to Normal began as a musical called Feeling Electric. As the original punny title might indicate, the show leaned heavily into satire and criticism of the mental health industry. But as the show evolved and the characters became more fully realized, the now-titled Next to Normal became a show at odds with itself. Was it a sincere portrait of familial strife, or a provocative comedy meant to prompt audiences to say “I can’t believe they said that in a musical!!”? When reviews of the off-Broadway production pointed out this dichotomy unfavorably, the creative team got back to work. For regional tryout that summer, they cut down the jokey satire numbers and thoughtfully delved into the very real consequences of severe mental illness, though still with caustic wit and a driving rock score. The newly cohesive version ran for a year and a half, won the Pulitzer Prize for drama, and has become a favorite of regional and community theaters.

Despite what his wholesome looks might suggest, Tom Kitt has become the go-to guy for rock on Broadway. Prior to his first Broadway score (for the shortlived musical version of High Fidelity), he had a career as a music director and arranger. He frequently serves in those capacities on jukebox musicals like American Idiot, Jagged Little Pill, and Hell’s Kitchen. Brian Yorkey built a reputation as a playwright and director with a particular knack for working with and writing for teens. In addition to writing musicals with Tom Kitt and others, Yorkey created the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why.

Recommended Recording: ”Superboy and the Invisible Girl,” Next to Normal (2009 Original Broadway Cast)

This is one of the top cast recordings of the aughts, with career-defining performances for everyone involved. Aaron Tveit and Jennifer Damiano give star-making performances, and I particularly love how their voices sound when they harmonize together on the last verse. This was also the first song I ever heard from Next to Normal, thanks to this Broadway.com video featuring the cast in the recording studio. In Alice Ripley’s brief section (beginning at 1:13), you can get a sense of how wild her performance was. I’ve seen four other Diana’s since, and none of them had the same comedic edge. In 2024, Tom Kitt remastered the recording in honor of its fifteenth anniversary. It rebalances the mix between vocals and musicians, emphasizing the rock sensibility of the score.

Alternate Performances

Next to Normal has received nine cast recordings, including Korean, Argentinian, Italian, Czech, and Dutch casts (though many of them are not readily available in the USA).

• 2013 German Cast - This production starred Pia Douwes, a Dutch musical theater star best known for creating the title role in Elisabeth, a landmark 1992 Austrian musical that is popular just about everywhere except America. She has an impossibly large range and can play just about any role (in just about any language)…and has done so. It’s a treat to hear her on this live cast recording.

• 2021 Riverdale Cast - Riverdale is an absolutely insane show that, on top of doing the most with every storyline, has a musical episode most seasons in which they take songs from a given show and recontextualize them to be about Archie and co. Earlier musical episodes centered around the high school musical, with some songs being seen in rehearsal/performance while others appeared in unrelated story lines. The Next to Normal episode from season 5 takes a different approach (maybe because they’ve graduated high school by this point). Betty’s mom is going through a depressive episode and listens to the Next to Normal recording obsessively, prompting its numbers to appear in everyone’s lives. “Superboy and the Invisible Girl” becomes a solo number for Veronica about feeling unseen in her relationship with Archie. Even though these episodes aren’t accurate presentations of the show, they always seem to tap into the source material’s original tone, so the songs still hit like they should emotionally.

• 2024 London Cast - Despite being popular throughout Europe for 15 years, Next to Normal never played London until a new 2024 production at the intimate Donmar Warehouse. While the original production leaned into the rock and comedic aspects of the show, this production doubled down on the suburbia of it all. Cassie Levy puts herself through it as Diana, while Jack Wolfe takes a quieter, more haunting approach to Gabe. The revival didn’t transfer to Broadway but instead received a proshot that aired on PBS as part of Great Performances. It’s currently steaming on PBS and BroadwayHD.

Is it Covered by The Rat Pack, Audra McDonald, or Glee?

• Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey have a talent for writing bespoke musicals that highlight the unique talents of its leading lady. See Next to Normal and Alice Ripley, If/Then and Idina Menzel, Freaky Friday and Heidi Blickenstaff. I am simply asking that they do for Audra McDonald what they have done for others.

In the Wings

As you wait for song No. 40 to drop, I recommend checking out this recording of a song called “Costco” from back in Next to Normal’s Feeling Electric days. This is often cited as one of the songs that felt tonally out of place in the off-Broadway production, and it was soon jettisoned forever.

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